Of Delicate Boys and Could Have Beens
by Albert Diyosa
Summary: The rain is a magical thing. It can do wonders to people, leaving them in awe and amusement. KogurexOC
1. Chapter 1

**Of Delicate Boys and Could Have Beens**

**Albert Diyosa**

After a long rest from writing fanfiction, I decided to upload a new story here because I miss writing. I do not get to write that much anymore because I am tied up with school work. In addition to that, it seems as if my creative juices ran out so I had to recharge, I guess.

Long rest from writing the presence of grammatical errors. It has been so LOOOOOOOONG since I wrote my last story in English, so forgive me. Of course, constructive criticism is welcome, especially on the grammar part. :D I won't hate you for criticizing constructively because it helps. :D

I want to write more random things about what has happened lately, but this story is not about me. :p Now, I will let you proceed reading. :D

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Slam Dunk or any of its characters. I do not even own the house I am living in (though it would be fun if I did). :p

**Chapter One**

What if he was not kidding? What if he did have that emotional confusion? Shin could only shake her head in disbelief.

'_I'll be fine, I swear.' _She kept on repeating in her head. It seemed as if the information she had gathered today was a little too much that her brain stopped working. The scene from earlier was still fresh in her thoughts—every detail, every word, and his angelic face.

Kirisawa Shin's taste in men had always been weird. She went for those who were gender-benders, confused, dark, mysterious, and cold. Although her types did not care about her existence, their apathy and inviting aura melted her heart. Shin was a self-confessed fan girl, but she clearly stated that she was below hardcore. She liked keeping her little guilty pleasure a secret.

Because she loved going for the gender-benders, confused, dark, mysterious and cold ones, Shin always ended up in tears. Even if she were aware of her weird taste with men, she would still feel bad of what could have happened if only the ones she admired were straight and were after her. All those opportunities that she could have grabbed to get to know her crushes more in a higher level—wasted. In fact, since all she ever liked never had the possibility to like her back because of their sexual orientation, Shin got used to sitting on a quiet corner and crying.

Drop. Shin looked up and saw that the clouds were turning gray already. From cumulus clouds, nimbo-cumulus clouds emerged, disturbing the peaceful picture of a blue sky, plastered with fluffy white clouds. Drop. Drop. Drop. It started to rain.

Shin's initial reaction whenever it rained was to reach for her umbrella in her bag. This time, she preferred soaking herself to hide her tears somehow. Shin looked up and saw that the clouds were getting darker. In a few minutes, the rain poured hard enough to make her sick after, but she did not mind. Her tears streamed down her cheeks until it was hard to distinguish them from the rain that also touched her face. Solitude and the rain—those were all she needed.

"Kirisawa-san, are you all right?"

Somehow, a gentle voice broke the monotony of the sound of rainfall, getting Shin's attention. She looked to see who it was and saw that it was her Physics classmate, Kogure Kiminobu. Shin discreetly wiped her tears away.

"Oh, it's you, Kogure-san." She greeted. "What brings you here?"

Before he could even answer, Kogure did not hesitate to share his umbrella with his soaking classmate. "I just bought some food from the convenience store just around the corner, and well, this is where I usually walk going back to my unit." He replied.

"Oh." Shin shivered a bit. "So you live around here?"

Kogure rolled his eyes. "I just told you earlier, remember?" He searched for something to keep her dry temporarily and managed to retrieve a handkerchief from his pocket. "Just what are you doing under the heavy rain?" He asked, handing his handkerchief to Shin.

Shin remained silent, contemplating on whether she would tell Kogure the truth or just shut up. Her classmate was waiting for an answer—or probably not. Now, one thing bothered Shin—her cold state. The wetness of her clothes left her undergarments wet, too, and that made her feel uncomfortable. The strands of baby hair on her arms stood up and she shivered every now and then. There was one thing she could do before something bad would happen to her.

"Kogure-san, can you do me a favor?"

He looked at her, concern painted all over his face. "What is it?"

Although Kogure and Shin had known each other since high school, they were not close friends. They only know each other by name and they did not greet each other way back. Shin was busy dealing with school issues because she was Shohoku High's editor-in-chief while Kogure was busy balancing his grades with basketball. If you would ask the two of them to define who was who, they could only describe the other physically—Shin was the tall and slender brunette of Shohoku High's school paper, and Kogure was the bespectacled black-haired geek who always hung out in their school's court after classes. They were not even friends, just acquaintances. Moreover, even now that they were in the same university, the same college, and the same Physics class, they hardly talked with each other.

She could have decided to let those things get in the way of convenience, but she chose to shoo those thoughts away. Shin did not care of what Kogure might think about her after, as long as she could save herself from getting ill.

Shin bit her lip, shivering a bit. "Can you please let me in your unit until the rain stops just so I could let myself dry?"

Kogure studied Shin's wet state—clothes clinging on her body, messy hair, near to purple lips and shivering—how could he say no to her right now?

"The place where I live is just three blocks away from where we are right now. Can you still manage to walk or do you want me to carry you?"

"If I ask you to carry me, will you really do it?" Shin returned the question. "I mean, I'm… well, wet."

He sighed. "Here, hold my umbrella and the groceries for me."

Kogure gestured Shin to ride on his back. Shin carefully placed herself on top of his back. She could feel the warmth of his Physics classmate and it felt good because it was cold.

"Ready?" Kogure faced her to see if she was all right. Shin nodded, and off they went to Kogure's unit.

Aside from the rain being someone's sanctuary when they feel sad, it could do something magical to people that could cause something unexpected, leaving people in awe and amusement.

**End of chapter one **


	2. Chapter 2

**Of Delicate Boys and Could Have Beens**

**Albert Diyosa**

**Disclaimer: **Slam Dunk is not my property so don't sue me. I am a struggling writer.

**Chapter Two**

Shin rubbed her eyes and found that she was lying on Kogure's bed. Beside it was her classmate, carefully placing a bowl on the desk.

"You are finally awake." Kogure greeted Shin as soon as she opened her eyes. He just came from his small kitchen to bring her some hot soup to help her feel warm. "I made that for you."

Shin sat up, shaking her head and facing him. "I did not know I fell asleep even though your place was three blocks away from where we were earlier."

Kogure placed a hand on her forehead, his other hand resting on his. "You were a bit sick earlier, which is probably why you fell asleep. Now, it seemed like your fever has gotten lower." He pointed at the bowl on his desk, telling Shin to consume it. She took it, but was a bit hesitant to taste it.

"I didn't put any drug on it, unfortunately." He joked. "Come on, it'll make you feel better."

Although it was somewhat obvious from the looks of Kogure that he was kind, Shin never thought he was _this_ kind. In fact, he was not just kind; he was even generous—for letting her stay in his unit for a while and serving her a bowl of soup to help her feel better. It was so nice of him to treat her that way, even though they were but acquaintances before and now.

Shin stared at the bowl of soup she was holding. The heat that escaped the ceramic bowl pierced through her cold hands. To her, it was like a symbolism of her classmate's warmth. Carefully, she sipped, allowing her mouth to drown in the sweetness of the soup. A satisfied smile found its way on her pale face.

"Hey, this isn't so bad!" She told him. She sipped some more until she was able to finish the soup. "Living alone must've really been your driving force to cook good food."

He smiled. "I love cooking, next to my studies and basketball. I cook because I get easily hungry."

Shin's eyes widened. "You do? You don't look like it, though."

"A lot of people have already told me that."

Shin studied her classmate. Kogure had always looked geeky, probably because of his glasses. Aside from the Shohoku High Basketball Varsity, Shin remembered people connecting Kogure to academic excellence, being the batch salutatorian. Even if he confessed that he loved cooking just like he loved studying and basketball, his body built was lean. Shin had this mental image of men who loved cooking to be someone huge, and he was not like that at all.

"Hmm, it is probably because your geeky aura gets in the way, that's why people tell you that." She commented. "Or it could be because your body does not show any signs of your love for cooking and eating."

Shin lied down again. The ceramic bowl rested on her stomach. She could still feel the hotness, which the soup left, and it felt good. She looked at the window and saw that it was still raining hard.

"OH CRAP."

"What's wrong?" Kogure asked, puzzled.

Shin sat up and looked at him. "I forgot I have a paper due tomorrow and I haven't started making it yet. But I'm here, in your unit, stuck because the rain won't stop." She slapped her face several times. "How could I have forgotten that when creative writing's my favorite subject?" She mumbled, still slapping herself.

"Well, I have a laptop and a printer. Will that help?"

Shin stopped torturing her face by slapping. "Are you saying that I'll just do my assignment here?"

"What else do you think am I imposing?"

"Are you serious?"

Kogure looked at her sternly and sighed heavily. "Do you doubt the services I am offering you?"

Shin smiled awkwardly. "It's not that I doubt your services. I just find it weird that you're being so nice to me even though we hardly spoke to each other since high school."

"It doesn't matter whether we were close friends before or not. I just can't stand leaving you soaking for the rest of the day." He said. "Oh yeah, you have to take a bath or your condition will worsen."

Shin touched her clothes. "And I am still wet." She faced behind to see the damage she caused on Kogure's bed. "Sorry, I got your bed wet."

"It's okay." He stood up, opened his closet and looked for a spare towel and some clothes that would fit Shin. "The bathroom's just outside my room."

She removed the blanket that covered her earlier and stood up. "Just leave the towel outside the bathroom. Thanks. I think I really have to shower now."

"Okay," he answered. "I'll also leave there the clothes you have to wear for the meantime." _If I do find one, _he thought as he rummaged through his things.

As soon as Shin had closed the bathroom door, she immediately freed herself from her wet garments, giving her a feeling of relief. She smiled.

As the lukewarm droplets of water came in contact with her pale and cold skin, musings seemed to disturb her quiet thoughts.

_So this is Kogure Kiminobu, _Shin thought while humming. _He was not so bad after all._

End of Chapter Two


End file.
